On Cathedral Day, September 29, 2024, we were honored to have Bishop Nathan Baxter share a powerful message with us. Bishop Baxter is the retired Bishop of the Diocese of Central Pennsylvania and also served as Dean of Washington National Cathedral from 1991–2003. 

As I thought about what words to share with you during this tumultuous time in our nation’s history, I could think of nothing more appropriate than his words of healing, commitment and finding our way home. Here it is in a shortened form; you’ll find a link to the entire sermon at the end, and I commend it to you. 

“Healthy and living institutions, including this great cathedral, are living organisms in which the vision and expression of its core mission is ever changing, responding to the complex needs and realities of the world that God so loves. 

“This cathedral has taken on that hard work of trying to enrich the life of ministry with those things that are at core of our faith, and at the same time, straining to be responsive to the new day that God is calling. As we embrace the richness of ancient Christianity and the fundamentals of the gospel of Jesus Christ, we must constantly also ask, ‘Where in our national discourse is there need for hope? Where is the political discourse lost in tribalism and the disrespect of human dignity? How in our time, with our moral currency and cultural legacy as a great cathedral, do we contribute to reconciliation?’ 

“It asks in our Baptismal Covenant, ‘Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself?’ And the response is not, ‘Yes.’ It is, ‘I will, with God’s help.’ It ain’t easy. It is a narrow gate. It asks, ‘Will you strive for justice and peace among all people and respect the dignity of every human being?’ And again, we groan and say, ‘Well, I will, but I need God’s help.’ Jesus tells us, ‘Enter through the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction.’ To destruction of human dignity, of moral rights, of respect for one another. 

“And there are many who take it, for the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life. Does not our nation need a renewal of life, finding bridges and building bridges? But that requires love. The word ‘agape’ means, in essence, to have a divine respect for the human dignity of all. If God, not excusing our sins and our failures, says, ‘You are my child and I have created you and said it is good,’ so we can disagree with what God loves, but we cannot disrespect the human dignity of what God loves. 

“It is hard. The narrow way is a hard way to live, especially in a world that’s filled with cynicism and hate and arrogance. And when the gospel is being proclaimed based on Christian Nationalism, on prosperity gospel, in a way in which we have a sense that the gospel is always against the foreigner or the one who sees God in another way, we are dying for the need to be reclaimed and to reclaim, the love of God in our lives, in our spirits, so that we are prepared to do the mission. 

“In Anne Lamott’s book Traveling Mercies, she tells the story of a little girl who decided one day she was going to see what’s out there in the world. She went downtown and she saw the lights and the horns blaring and all the people. And she was amazed until she realized she didn’t know how to get home. She stood confused, and a police officer drove up and saw her, and he said, ‘Are you all right?’ She says, ‘I’m, I’m lost, and I don’t know how to get back home.’ He said, ‘Well, get in and we’ll drive around and see if you see anything that looks familiar.’ So he drove her around and suddenly she says, ‘Stop. There’s my church. I can always find my way home from there.’ The National Cathedral is one of those rare beacons, which I believe can help America find its way home. May God continue to bless those who minister, who support and who pray for this ministry, for indeed America needs the witness of our National Cathedral. May it be so.” 

Watch or read the entire sermon at
cathedral.org/sermons/cathedral-day-sermon